An Introduction to Trauma-Informed Yoga

Hi :) 
Thanks for your interest in joining me for some trauma informed yoga practices. This month I will be hosting a free community class on October 22nd at 6pm. This class will give you the opportunity to have an introduction to trauma informed yoga with 30 minutes of yoga and 30 minutes of workshop/discussion time. Many people have asked me "what is trauma informed yoga?". Well I would say the key part of trauma informed yoga practices is CHOICE. The teacher is taking every opportunity they can to add as much choice into the practice as possible. This is key, as Judith Lewis Herman states in her book, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror, "The first principle of recovery is empowerment of the survivor". Trauma can be defined as an extreme lack of choice, lack of choice around what happens to ourselves and our bodies. Trauma informed and Trauma sensitive yoga practices allow the participant to re-empower themselves within the relationship between the teacher and themselves. When you are taking a trauma informed yoga class you are the expert of your own body, you are invited to participate at whatever level you choose moment to moment, and you get to choose how you are moving (or not moving) your body throughout the whole class.

For me many regular yoga classes can be triggering. I have left several classes feeling upset, frustrated, and disempowered. In the past, I told myself it was because I was too stubborn and I don't like being told what to do. However, I now understand my body was communicating to me that being told how to move and given no other options is not healing and makes me feel like I am no longer respected or in control of my own body. This disempowerment brought back similar feelings to being in hospitals or doctors offices where I was not asked, but told what was going to happen to my body. Again, we can see this  trauma as an extreme lack of choice. I now know I am not just stubborn, but I need to feel safe and invited to move my body in alignment with my choices. 

There are a few other components to trauma informed and trauma sensitive classes however, I would like to go more in depth in future emails with you about those. (More to look forward too!) 

I think the best way to fully understand the difference between a regular yoga class and one that is trauma informed is to experience it yourself, in your own body. Which is why I am inviting you to join me for a free class. There will also be time after the class to talk to me about any questions you may have around trauma yoga or other mental health topics. I will also be handing out free class cards to use for any the classes I offer on my regular schedule. 

You can sign up for the free class here
OR if you would like a recording of a trauma informed practice to try at home you can get email me back and I will send one over :)
 If you don't want to wait till the 22nd to take a class with me you can find my full schedule here.
The 2 week unlimited intro pass is still available at $15. 

Also feel free to pop into the class if you aren't able to sign up. Walk in's welcome.

If group classes seem intimidating, if you have specific concerns you would like to give individual attention to, or if you want to break the ice before attending a group class. I invite you to schedule a 1:1 introduction to yoga class with me. You can do that here.